Home Remodeling Skills, Career & Training

What is Home Remodeling?

In the broadest sense, home remodeling means taking an outdated or dilapidated home and restoring it. At the ground level, it can mean all sorts of things, from tearing out walls and redoing the floors to painting and general repairs. A home remodeler might work on cosmetic fixes like installing new kitchen countertops, swapping out light fixtures and adding new carpeting. But, depending on the home, they may also have to make serious repairs like redoing plumbing, updating electrical wiring or adding an air conditioning system. Home remodelers may make these fixes and cosmetic upgrades to 'flip' the home -- resell it for a profit in a short span of time -- or at the behest of a homeowner who's ready for a new look. Through it all, remodelers have to make sure repairs and additions are done according to national and local codes.

How Do You Learn to Remodel Homes?

Unlike some careers, home remodeling careers don't always have a tried and true path. Some people might learn by buying a home and learning how to complete projects as they go and some might learn home renovation skills through an apprenticeship. Others might look at getting a technical diploma that offers home remodeling and repair training. These home remodeling schools have home remodeling classes that teach skills like framing, shingle installation and cabinet hanging.

Carpentry training is another option for those who want to work on the construction side of remodeling. For the aesthetic side of remodeling, aspiring home remodelers might look at degrees in interior design.

What Skills Are Important for Home Remodeling?

For people who want to remodel homes from top to bottom, there is a wide range of skills to master. For adding an addition to a home, a remodeler would need framing and construction skills. Ripping out old flooring, fixtures and cabinets and installing new ones will take a certain level of handiness and advanced proficiency with tools. Giving a home a new look also requires design skills -- home remodelers need to know what styles and colors work well together. Finally, these types of projects often come with surprises that can derail the budget and timeline, so being a home remodeler also requires patience, organization and financial smarts.

What Do Home Remodeling Careers Pay?

Since this line of work encompasses so many different disciplines, it can be difficult to pin down what a home remodeling career looks like (and how much it pays). Let's take a look at some of these disciplines to get a better idea. For general maintenance and repair workers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a median salary of $38,300 in 2018 and a projected rise in employment of 8% between 2016 and 2026. Construction managers who work in residential construction made a median salary of $83,640 as of May 2018. Interior designers offering specialized design services brought home a median salary of $51,240 and the BLS projects employment in the field to grow by 4% by 2026.